Pairing
by ME v2
Summary: In the far future, the legendary Titan program produces the greatest soldiers in history. Great enough to effectively remove the Xenomorph threat, leaving the only remaining members of the species in captivity. What will happen when one of the programs best representatives is brought back in, to be paired with the creatures he was trained to destroy.
1. Prologue

A/U: This chapters just a quick prologue (emphasis on quick), it was my original inspiration, but I intend to take the story somewhere completely different. The story is based around the Xenomorphs species, but is otherwise almost completely seperate from the alien franchise. If my abbreviations for militatary rankings are inccorect, I apologize. Also, I send love and cookies to anyone who can point out all the cultural references I had so much fun working in. Please remember: there is a 50% chance of snow, a 12% chance of rain, and a 100% chance that this story will include inter-species "relations". If you are not okay with this, don't bother reading.

_**PROLOGUE**_

I watched as she took off through the dense jungle, running with a fluid grace, at a speed no normal human could obtain. She avoided any obstacles with ease, the row of bushes that ended their clearing, the grenade falling to her right, the rapid gunfire shattering over her head. She made it easily to the secondary tree line, and made for the nest entrance.

She scanned the area carefully, noticing anything that would impede her progress towards the hive. A Hyrulean soldier reaching for a grenade, a squad of gunners quickly reloading their turret, neither would be a problem. She sprinted out of cover, eating up ground quickly. The gunfire started exactly how she had predicted, aimed high but rapidly lowering towards her head. Another second and she hit the decline, lowering her below the dense underbrush. She knew the grenade would come on her right, and she dived just before it would hit the ground. The force behind her slammed into her armor, launching her into a perfect roll just before the hive. She looked back at the trail of gas she had left, and hoped their plan worked. Back on the other side of the battle she spotted the recruit she'd found desperately trying to strike a spark. His body lifted as bullets hit him, sending him several feet back, but not quick enough. By some miracle of fate he had struck his flint just right, dropping them on the puddle of gas before him. The flames shot forward, traveling quickly towards her. They had miscalculated, and she could tell just before the line of searing flames reached the gas jug that she had completed her last mission.

January fifth, 2132; Weylend-Yutani Assualt Droid Division [ADD], 22:43:12

Mission Log 0498 Transmission Recieved:

Hive Destroyed, Colonial Insurrectionists repressed, no survivors.

Team Report:May 7, 2001

Pvt. Myst, Atrus; Serial No. 0-MA701; Status: KIA

Pvt. Ripley, Ellen; Serial No. O-L V426; Status: KIA

Sgt. Johnson, Avery; Serial No. O-B2652; Status: KIA

PO. Spartan, John; Serial No. 0-MC117; Status: KIA

CWO. Sierra, Kelly; Serial No. 0-HB463; Status: KIA

Mission Status: Success.

Weylend read the report carefully, noting the serial numbers of the deceased men. He looked over to the man who had arrived with the eye's only report.

"And the footage?" The man was rather small, and seemed even more so when he cowered under his CEO's hard gaze.

"Nothing could be retrieved other than what had been remotely sent before the explosion." His boss nodded in satisfaction. "Delete it."

"Delete it, Sir?" He asked.

"I believe those were my words." The business man refocused his stare, noting the name card on the messengers shirt. "Are you capable of that, Ensign Lovell?" Weylends eyes seemed to pierce the ensigns soul, in a way that disturbed him greatly. Lovell nodded rapidly, "Yes Sir!", and hurried out of the room.


	2. Chapter 1

A/U: This one will be a bit longer, and I'm kind of proud of how I did with the dialogue. Warning: This chapter may contain boring and tedious details, but it's relevant to the story. Just to note, The Xenomorph existence is not a secret. Again, I would like to see if anyone can point out the cultural references I added. You can skip the next part if you don't care about my references in the last chapter.

Cultural References from the last chapter:

In the personnel roster, Atrus is the name of a character in the Myst PC game series. The serial number was the date the third, and best, game was released.(March 7, 2001) Next in the roster, Ellen Ripley was the main character in the Alien movies, and her serial number is the designation of the planet the aliens were first discovered on. The third name refers to Sargent Avery Johnson from the halo franchise, And his serial number represents his cause, Boom!, and year, 2652 of death. The third name refers to Spartan John-117, better known as the Master Chief. His serial number is his innitials, MC, and spartan number, 117. Also, Ensign lovell was another character from the halo Series. For originality sake, Kelly Sierra was my own character.

_**CHAPTER ONE**_

He moved quickly, striding down the hall in larger steps that echoed through the huge building. His movements were quick, agitated, yet still preserved some for of grace as he came to a stop in front of the conference room. Sargent Scott had always had an impressive poker face, and he used it know as he prepared for his first briefing on the new assignment. He pulled open the steel door to reveal several military officers sitting around the conference table, and an empty chair with a folder in front of it. He sat down nervously, and and waited for one of his superiors to acknowledge him.

"Sargent Ridley Scott, sixteen years as a marine, no education, no financial or military background. Is this correct." The man addressed him stiffly, reading the information from a folder.

"yes," he said, "it is."

"Despite that, you are a recipient of three purple hearts, the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, and a Medal of Honor. Is this also correct?" He sighed in relief, the conversation was definitely taking a turn for the better.

"Yes, it is," He repeated his former statement. The man reading from his file nodded slowly.

"And do you believe this success to be largely do to your participation in the Titan program?" Definitely better. This was probably another review to see how efficiently the program was using it's over sized budget.

"I do. The advanced training and weaponry in the Titan program are the only reason I'm alive today, Sir." That aught to get them off Halsey's back. The General seemed satisfied. "Well, Sargent. I'm offering you another position with the program." Ridley was stunned. Brought back in? No one was brought back. Once they finished training the military unleashed them on the enemy. More than often he had been dropped in enemy territory with no instructions other than to deplete their supply of body bags, and he had always succeeded. Everyone in the program did.

"Brought back Sir? I thought the program was only an advanced training sector." Then another man at the table, and admiral, spoke up,

"It is, we're opening another branch, to train recruits in more," He paused searching for the right word, "unorthodox methods. We want to bring you in to help test the procedure, and to train the recruits in everything from the original course." In his mind there was no need for considering.

"I'll do it." The admiral chuckled,

"You may want to hear the details first. This particular program involves partner focused combat. A very special partner."

"Other recruits were always incorporated into the training sir, that's nothing new." He wondered if these officers had even read the program's case study.

"Not recruits, Sargent. Xenomorphs-" He put his hand up when Ridley tried to interrupt. "Please, just here this out. We've been working on genetically modifying them." He motioned towards the other end of the table. "Dr. Reed."

The only woman in the room stood up and turned towards a screen on the wall.

our initial intent was to make them less aggressive, so they'd be easier to study. We dramatically reduced the size and output of the pituitary gland, the part of the brain that controls hormones, and altering the temporal lobe to decrease aggressive or emotional behaviors." On the screen the Xenomorph brain appeared, and two sections outlined in red shrank back and changed shape, leaving a hole in the brain.

"Because of this gap," She continued, indicating the hole, "The Parietal lobe, the section of brain devoted to intelligence and logic, grew exponentially. " A section of the brain near the hole expanded, filling in the entire gap that the previous shrinking had left.

"We experienced tremendous results, mostly focused around problem solving. The Xenomorphs were solving logical problems that many humans would struggle with. Most of our tests would involve designing some sort of physical and mental puzzle that the Xenomorph had to think through. Because of their advanced senses and abilities. they seemed almost designed for the tasks we gave them. This change produced something even better, though. Their minds weren't capable of such thought, and most went insane." A video played showing several Xenomorphs running around randomly, smashing into walls and each other.

"Eventually a new mutation took hold, causing a swelling of the frontal lobe." The picture returned to the brain, showing one section of the brain enlarging, forcing another to shrink.

"This resulted in heightened intelligence, reasoning, memory, planning, decision making, judgment, and initiative. The only side affect was a decrease in already slight personality and emotion, and a slowing of growth due to the reduction of the pituitary gland. This proved to be useful in training them while they were young. With all these changes they have developed an... intelligence, that rivals our own." She seemed almost cautious in using the term intelligence. He leaned forward.

"So let me get this strait, you found the most dangerous species in the galaxy. Then you took our one advantage, superior intelligence, and stripped it away. And know you want me to train them? Fuck you." Dr. Reed seemed nervous about his response. The admiral cut in, "They are perfectly safe. Our reports say that-"

"We have experienced a few problems," Reed blurted. She continued more slowly, "A batch escaped, formed their own hive in the planets western jungles. A group of radical colonists interfered with the removal. The entire team died." he barked out a laugh,

"let me guess, SEALS? Of course they died, Should have run them through the program first. Suddenly the entire room was quite. A general in the middle finally addressed him,

"Not SEALS, Three Marines, a Xeno specialist, and... A titan. " That caught his attention. A titan dead? That would make the third one, in fourteen years of active service, on suicide missions at that.

"Real great motivator Doc. Tell me that not only have you created these abominations, but you did it so well that they killed a program graduate. I'm back in." That sparked some surprise around the table, but no one complained. Dr. Reed spoke up again,

"This program is attempting to train human soldiers to work with the Xeno's in isolated pairs, perhaps connected to a larger unit. You would of course be paired with a Xenomorph as well." he laughed,

"relax Doctor, you've already sold the product, you don't have to tell me the side affects." She glared at him, while the Admiral stood up.

"Thank you for your cooperation. We'll send you your official orders promptly, and have you sent to the facility next week." As he left, he noticed that there was one man in the room who hadn't said a word.

A/U: If you review, please tell me what you think of the concept. I only had the idea about the alterations to the Xeno's when I began this chapter, and came up with the entire 'program' and pairing them up as I wrote it. Explanation of this chapters references will be included in the next chapter. Please add your opinion about that as well. Should I keep doing this, or just leave you to discover them?


	3. Chapter 2

A/U: Thanks for reviewing, I read all reviews carefully. Please tell me what you think, and, same as ever, read, review, enjoy.

P.S.

Last chapters references:

The main character is named after the director of Alien, Ridley Scott. The doctor mentioned with the Titan project was named after the halo character Dr. Halsey. The woman briefing Ridley was named after a doctor in the movie Evolution, Dr. Reed.

_**CHAPTER TWO**_

He recieved the orders two days later, and was scheduled for a flight to the planet the next week. He also recieved a folder with all the information presented to him about the Xeno's, and a few other details. The file also contained an Itinerary of the training program. He would arrive with a group of select recruits, and each one would be trained as a pair with one of the altered Xenomorphs. The time until his flight was uneventfull, and it seemed only a day had passed before he loaded onto the transport, to be whisked away to some distant colony. On board he got to meet some of the volunteers who would also be on the project. Most of them were marines, a few snipers, some were contractors. He was the only project graduate. Because of that, most of them avoided him, but he caught the stares when they thought he wasn't paying attention. There was one, however, who talked to him. A young SEAL, probably just passed regular training. His first day on board the kid followed him everywhere. He even caught him wating outside the bathrooms sometimes. Day two was the same story. The kid never approached him, never tried to initiate a conversation. But he was always there, always watching him. It was like having a stalker. He spent his days in the gym, running obstacle courses, working out, and reading up on the xeno's. After a week that routine got old, and he found himself spacing out, searching for something to do. It was during one of these periods that the SEAL finally talked to him.

"Hey, Saergent, want in on the game?" There was a group of guys standing around, one of them was dribling a basketball. It was obvious that the others weren't comfortable with the request.

"Sure," Normally he would have declined, "I'll play." He couldn't resist the urge to make them squirm. That basically ended the conversation. Other than to tell him which members would be on his team, they didn't say a word. It became apparent that basketball wasn't his strength. He was more than coordinated enough, but he couldn't shoot to save his life, and would have fouled out in the first five minutes if this was an official game. After seing that he wasn't too great, the others opened up a little, throwing out a few jokes and some advice. Mostly jokes. After about an hour, they called it a day and headed to lunch. That was the first day he even talked to him. That became a sort of daily tradition, they had an hour long game before lunch, and then he went back to his regular schedule. After another week they arrived on the planet, _Gammorah._ Official designation: LV-426, population: 1200, Economy: Scientific research. He had memorized those and a hundred other facts about the facility. They departed the ship shortly after breakfest, and entered the atmosphere in a life craft. Coming down brought up some memories, from his first run in the program.

_He was nervous about the training. He had barely finished training, and now he was back in. The entry was bumpy, wild, throwing him around. The other recruits were all older, more experienced. No one talked, but he wished someone would, it would help break the ice. After a particularly bad burst of turbulance the craft evened out, setting down softly._

He looked around, observing the other recruits. It seemed the young SEAL was in his position, and he was one of the older soldiers. He almost said something, but held off. Something made him stop. He would talk to him later. The restraints lifted, and the door to the ship began to open.

_He looked out around him, the facility looming up. The air was odd, only barely breathable. Everyone filed out and headed towards the door, like they knew what this was going to be like. Maybe they did. He followed suit, running along with the rest, as Drill Sargeant's yelled at them. This was shaping up to be a long haul._

He shook his head, disoriented from the flashbacks. He had fond memories of his first training run, but knew that he certainly wasn't of that opinion during it. If the first program was any judge, this was going to be six months of hell, and almost non-stop missions in hot zones for a year after. And to think this was fun to him.

_The inside was even more impressive, large, sterile, militant. Dull, gray block walls, all cement. Colored bands, leading to different areas, stringing the doors were metal, gray, heavy. The windows were thick, laced with wire several times. This wasn't a training facility, it was a fortress._

The building hadn't changed. The walls were exactly the same, still sharp and crisp. The windows were perfect, without a single scratch or smudge. Even the paint looked like it had been done yesterday. He knew instantly where to go, without the line on the walls. After a few sharp turns he was at administration, large, low room with an armored wall and heavy wired glass protecting a main desk. All communication took place through speakers built into the wall, and the people behind the glass were authorized to gas the room if anyone was remotely suspicious. He smiled to himself, remembering the warning that these old ladies were trained killers, and a bit twitchy with the red button. It had been funny until one of them tazed him for raising his voice a little. After that, the administrative faculty had his utmost respect. Rather than activate the speakers, the lady behind the glass, who he could swear was the same one that had been here years ago, pressed a button, and the wall slid open, revealing a pressurized airlock. The automated guns did not go unnoticed by the group. A minute later, after clearing several pressure doors a secretary arrived, holding a clipboard. She smiled at everyone. "Come this way, Dr. Halseys waiting for you." She walked quickly back down the hall, taking several turns, before stopping in front of a specially reinforced door. "She'll be right down, in the meantime you're too see the Xenomorphs you're to be paired with, through two foot glass, of course." That made everyone shift nervously. Two feet? This place had gotten even more paranoid. Multiple locks later, twelve to be exact, the door finally opened, revealing rows of windows looking out on what looked like interrogation rooms. "The viewers are one way, but don't be surprised if they know you're there. These things have a sixth sense for when they're being watched." It didn't take long to find a screen with his name scrolling from right to left along the bottom. The room he saw was almost completely black, filled with plants and rocks, making it seem like a jungle. There was nothing in th- Wait. On the left, something was moving. He squinted peering into the dark. Suddenly, the creature moved forward, flashing in front of the screen almost instantly. It was small still, about the size of a large dog, and wasn't completely black yet. It had remnants of it's tan coloring, and stood out just enough to be seen. It seemed to be watching him, moving it's head back and forth, smelling the air. He stared back, ignoring the fact that it couldn't see him. The creatures attention suddenly shifted, almost seeming to focus on something to his right. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

A/U: Please review, I'm not sure if I like my beginning. It feels odd somehow. Also, what did you think of the flashbacks? I was toying with a different style, and I might use them to tell you more about the program. It seems appropriate, and would provide some good background. Thanks again for reading, and please review.


	4. NOTE

I surender! Please don't kill me! I did not forget about this story, I promise. Through some coincidence of fate, the first day of break the internet dish blew off our house, so I was stuck at home unable to post for the longest time. On top of that, I was busy all week, and had no time to work on new chapters. I will get the next one up as soon as possible.


	5. Chapter 4

A/U: and... I'M BACK! I understand any lack of enthusiasm. I'll admit, I forgot about this story, and haven't even been on fanfiction in months. I guess any semblance of trying to stay on schedule is out the door. I'll try to remember to post, or at least write the next chapter, but I'll admit there's a good chance I'll forget. Often. If you can find it in your hearts too forgive me I'll keep writing.

_**CHAPTER THREE**_

He didn't have to turn too see who it was. He could recognize her by her perfume brand. Without turning he spoke, "Not my choice of words, Halsey. Evil, disgusting, and more than a little creepy, but beautiful?" She just sighed. "You know Ridley, some day you will learn to respect things beyond how hard it is too kill them." He just scoffed as she walked towards the head of the room, speaking to the recruits as she went. "Welcome to the Titan facility. Most of you have never even heard of it before a month ago, and if you are ever asked you still haven't. In summary the Titan project is a theoretical training plan that I proposed, but was never accepted. The program was shot down because the training methods were declared inhumane. You were all picked for the program, but never attended because of the programs failure." He smiled listening to the familiar speech. Officially, the Titan program didn't exist, and none of them were here. The government had felt it best not too reveal the Titan program because of it's questionable methods. Most people would look down on things like water-boarding and nutritional deprivation. "We produce some of the greatest soldiers in human history, better trained than anyone else in the entire known universe. No other program has ever come close for one simple reason. They played by the rules. Here we have no such inhibitions. Here, there is only one rule of war, win." It seemed like nothing had changed here he had heard the exact same thing when he had gone through before. Still grinning he glanced back at the mirror, noticing the creatures sudden fixation on him. He stared back at it, regaining his composure. These things could sense his relaxation, and would use it. Halsey had reached the end of the long room, and she tapped one of the control panels. The one way mirrors suddenly turned black, and the lights in the room brightened. The recruits in the room were grinning, more relaxed now that they couldn't see the xenomorphs. He couldn't blame them, he had reacted just as bad when he first saw one.

_Looking around, Halsey spoke at the front of the auditorium. "I want everyone to be calm. This will be your first up and close meeting with a xenomorph. I want you to react however you feel is appropriate, but I cannot garuntee your safety if you panic. With that she left the room, and the electric lock clicked. Then a cage slowly descended into the room, and he realized two things. First, there was no way out, and Second, the cage was open._

Coming back to the present, he watched Halsey turn around. "You were picked because you are the best. The fastest, the strongest, the smartest. You learned faster, reacted quicker, and sometimes just got luckier than the others you trained with. You are a shining example of the perfect soldier, superior to any other in the corp. Here, we will make you better." She paused, brightening. He remembered her favorite dramatic phrase for the new guys. "Right now you are gods of war, but we will make you Titans."

* * *

Waiting in the darkened room, six could tell something was different. The atmosphere had changed, "they" felt like more of a murky brown than the sterile white. They had changed, even the one who was a gravy brown had changed into a pulsating green color. She could sense her sisters start to taste like an orb of purple, the first time she had sensed them as anything other than the calming black mist they all shared. This continued for days, charging her nerves, and she slowly felt her own color to brighten, becoming an unbearable purple like her sisters.

Then they came. She could feel them come, down from the sky, a mix browns and yellows and blues, the cacophony hitting her like the one who was bright solid red sometimes did. It scared her, making her feel even brighter, less subtle. She felt them moving through the facility, coming closer, their too loud voices reverberating through the air. They entered the room nearby, the one that was on the other side of the wall. She locked her eyes on the smooth spot that always showed herself. She could taste him on the other side, a dark pine green. Almost pleasant, unlike any of the other ones who all stank of fear and excitement. Then she was back. The one that tasted like a gravy-ish orange color. Her smell was normal again, wasn't the bright green she hated anymore. the room was filled with the others, filled with the flavors of sour greens and bitter yellows and spicy reds. They were almost unbearable, and caused her to hide down under one of the plants that wasn't really a plant. Than his smell changed, the pine cutting through more, sharper. The mint became overpowering. Knowing he had somehow seen her she flashed forward, rearing up in an attempt to intimidate him. The pine smell didn't even react, if anything the minty taste cooled from something sharp to a relaxed freshness. She slowly leaned closer, tasting him, looking for a creeping blue that meant he was afraid. She couldn't find it. Then she focused on the Gravy Brown, the only one that was nice. She fed her, and talked to her. She had learned words from this Gravy Brown one, and thought that she was the only one of them that smelled good. He, the one that had come with all the others that had a blue fear scent, had proven her wrong. His scent altered slightly, softening and became more of a receding blur than the crisp well cornered shape it had been. The was softer, less assaulting on her senses and appealed to her more. But then it hardened again. He was looking at her now, staring through the other side of the smooth spot. He had responded to the Gravy Brown scents sounds, had relaxed when hearing her. And then he had noticed her attention, then he smelled sharp and piercing again. Suddenly, the spot that showed herself didn't. Now it was black. This happened sometimes, when one of them were in the other room and she or her sisters made them afraid. But she could still sense him on the other side. Could still taste his reaction to the Gravy Brown one talking. Then there was that word, one of the ones she had learned. "Titan"

A/U: Thanks for reading. I hope you can forgive the (extremely) long wait. Please review, and try to be nice even though I know I don't deserve it. I want to know what you all think of how I did the alien. I had fun with it, and thought it was pretty good. I hope no one was confused by the colors, but I didn't know how to describe the Aliens senses, so I related them to colors and flavors. (This is known as synthesia, I think.)


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